(The Epoch Times)—The United States has imposed a 17 percent tariff on most imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico over its alleged unfair trade practices, the Commerce Department said on July 14.
The department stated that it was issuing an antidumping duty order to measure the percentage by which Mexican tomatoes have been sold in the United States at unfairly low prices.
This followed the federal government’s decision to terminate a 2019 trade agreement it had signed with Mexico, which had previously suspended the antidumping investigation into Mexican tomato imports.
Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said in a statement that the move is in line with President Donald Trump’s trade policies and approach with Mexico.
“Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes. That ends today,” Lutnick stated.
The tariff rate is lower than the previously proposed rate of 20.91 percent, which the department mentioned in April when it announced plans to withdraw from the trade deal with Mexico within 90 days.
The department said the agreement “has failed to protect U.S. tomato growers from unfairly priced Mexican imports,” and that it had been “flooded with comments” from U.S. tomato growers calling for an end to the deal.
In response, Mexico’s Economic Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the government will work toward finding a solution to suspend the tariff as part of ongoing trade negotiations with the United States.
Ebrard stated that the move would “only affect the pockets of American consumers,” citing U.S. reliance on imported Mexican tomatoes.
“It’s unfair and against not only Mexican producers, but on the American industry. The ground that Mexican fresh tomatoes have gained in the U.S. is because of the quality of the product, not from unfair practices,” he stated.
According to the Agriculture Department (USDA), about 93 percent of the nation’s fresh tomato imports come from Mexico. The USDA projected that Mexico’s tomato exports will decline by 5 percent this year as a result of the U.S. antidumping duties.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Lutnick on July 11, urging him to delay the decision to terminate the trade deal in order to allow time for negotiations with Mexico. The letter states that the import and sale of Mexican tomatoes generate an estimated $8.3 billion in economic benefits.
The group expressed concerns that terminating the deal could result in retaliatory actions from Mexico, potentially causing “further hardship for U.S. businesses and consumers.”
On July 11, Trump announced a 30 percent tariff on imports from Mexico, which is set to go into effect on Aug. 1, citing the country’s insufficient efforts to prevent cartels from trying to turn North America into a “narco-trafficking playground.”
Trump said that he might consider adjustments to the tariff if Mexico lowers its trade barriers against the United States and if it’s successful in challenging the cartels and stopping the flow of fentanyl.
Tom Ozimek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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